San Xavier de Bac, a Treasure in the Desert

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Geo: 31.9755, -111.098

Only 9 miles south of Tuscon, the San Xavier mission commands the eye. This is not a blend-into-the-surroundings kind of building. It sits starkly white against the drab desert like nothing else. It's Baroque. It's Mexican Renaissance. It's Moorish. And it's Byzantine.
But seeing it THERE, with no water around, makes you really scratch your head. WHY HERE? Why build this gorgeous mission building here and not on the banks of a small stream?
We learned why as we investigated further.
Great care has been taken to restore, repair and revive San Xavier. Begun in 1783, it's been hit by lightening, shaken by earthquakes, and nearly ruined by water (go figure).
Surrounding missions have been deserted and drifted off into the desert, but San Xavier is a vibrant, working church with a dedicated congregation in addition to an international team of conservators who have spent years cleaning and repairing.
The result is an incredible display of 1700's Spanish artistry and the oldest intact European building in the state.
After visiting Tumacacori and the Presidio at Tubac, we were amazed at the intricacy and vibrancy of the paintings and sculpture. This is a place much loved by it's people.

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Photos

San Xavier Mission compound
When we saw this place from the highway our impression was...confusion. WHAT is it doing THERE?
There is NOTHING around it. There's no water source. WHY HERE amongst the mesquite and sage and.....dirt?
But the area was a bit different 200 years ago.

Santa Cruz River
The Santa Cruz flowed here when the missions were built, but falling water tables and over development have done a job on it. Two hundred years ago the river flowed, then went underground a bit, then re-emerged as a river again.
The San Xavier mission was built right where the river came back up out of the earth.
Now it's just another sad dry riverbed.

Fabulous Facade, the Old Way
To get the exterior so white, "the construction crew is using a recipe used by the Tohono O'odham peoples, which when baked in the hot Arizona sun makes the church's exterior a bright white color which helps in being able to resist the harsh desert weather," says our guide.

Reservation School Children
Leaving the chapel after Mass, these children file past us as we wait to go in. Their school is adjacent to the San Xavier Mission and part of the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation. The school has been in operation since 1864.

Thick 'n Groovy
See how deeply the cross is carved into the wall? This is a really startling effect. You look and look and then realize...oh my goodness! That's carved INTO the wall.

Curves Catch the Sun
Rows of church pews with scalloped backs catch the morning sun.

Original Frescoed Walls
Restorers removed over-painting, cleaning up these beautiful frescoes, displaying their bright colors. Completed in 1997, he entire interior of the chapel took six years to restore. Every square inch of the altar area is covered with paintings, sculptures, decorations, geometrics--you name it, it's there.